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How to Spot Bad Kitchen Cabinets

Many homes that are for sale on the market and appear to be fully updated have a kitchen space that is actually full of dud cabinets. Even after purchasing a house that has a kitchen with beautiful, quality countertops, homeowners are surprised to find that they are sitting atop poor quality or badly finished cabinets. It is important to know if you will need to remodel your kitchen or replace bad cabinets with custom kitchen cabinets—especially when you have invested money into what should be a quality piece of real estate.

If you do find that your cabinets are bad, or simply do not like the styles, do not panic. Completing a kitchen remodel is not as difficult as it may seem, especially when you have a professional team, like Kitchen Solvers, standing by your side. Here are some tips for how you can spot bad kitchen cabinets.

Judge by the Cover

If you are buying a home or thinking about remodeling your kitchen or bathroom, you will need to know how to make sure that your cabinets are of good quality and worth keeping. Since quality cabinets account for roughly half the cost of a kitchen, they are very important to inspect. Sometimes there is no need to look beneath the surface to know that a cabinet is of poor quality. If they look cheap, they probably were, and might be impossible to properly refinish or reface. If there is obvious damage, you will probably end up replacing the cabinets shortly. Here are some signs that are easy to spot that will let you know that the cabinets are no good:

Excess wear on the fronts of doors and drawer pulls.

Flaky surfaces that indicate photo simulated wood grain. These are very cheap materials that are often a combination of pressboard and paper.

Misaligned cabinets doors or drawers.

Missing cabinet faces.

Some things, such as wear or missing faces, can be replaced and recovered to look like new, but only if the cabinets themselves are of good quality wood and have been well cared for through the years.

Take an Inside Look

You cannot just walk into a kitchen and like the look of cabinets to know if they are of good quality. To determine the quality, you will have to take a closer look inside. Pull out a few drawers and make a note of how they have been constructed. Low quality cabinets are built using staples and wood glue on thin, lightweight wood that is often manufactured. If the drawer slides are made from flimsy metals or non existent, they are generally of poor quality. Also, higher quality drawers only use precision dovetailing in the joineries between the sides and the face.

Reface Your Cabinets with Custom Kitchen Cabinets

If you determine that you would like to start your kitchen remodel with replacing your old kitchen cabinets, refacing may be an option. This involves putting a new face on your cabinets, and requires very little time, work and construction inconvenience to complete. To learn more, visit our kitchen cabinet refacing page or contact a representative with Kitchen Solvers today.

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What People Are Saying About Us

Working with the folks at Kitchen Solvers was a great experience!! They are very professional, and had so many great ideas in helping us with our kitchen remodel. I am so happy with how the kitchen turned out!! They were prompt and very good at keeping me informed of progress on the project. You could tell that they wanted to do the best job possible for you! Every day before leaving they made sure to clean up any mess that was made. I would definitely recommend them to do your project!!

Diane G – Florida

Just wanted to let everyone at Kitchen Solvers know how much I love my new kitchen! This is not the first time that I have used Kitchen Solvers to complete a remodeling project for me. The first time I hired Kitchen Solvers was quite a few years ago when I decided to have my kitchen cabinets refaced. They looked amazing! I next decided I wanted to complete my kitchen by putting in a new granite countertop, sink and tile backsplash. I looked at several ads, shopped around online and checked out every home improvement store around. But every time I received a quote, I would put the project on hold as it was too expensive. Then I remember Kitchen Solvers and what a great job they did for me the first time. I called them right away. They came out to take measurements and to go over all the different options and selections available. When they gave me the quote, I was ecstatic and hired them right away.

Everyone at Kitchen Solvers is highly experienced and top-notch craftsmen who believed the work should be done right and in a timely manner.

My family and friends have complimented me on my new kitchen and I am very proud to inform them about how easy you made the entire process and how comfortable I felt relying on you to complete the project to perfection.

When I’m ready to do my next project, my first and only call will be to Kitchen Solvers.

Sincerely,

Carolyn P – Missouri

We wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying our new kitchen. I knew that Kitchen Solvers would do a good job, but I am truly amazed at how much better everything looks. It far surpassed even my expectations. All of the suggestions given during the process were wonderful. The quality of the work and the professionalism that was displayed during the work was superior. I am happy to show off my new kitchen to everyone and proudly tell them that Kitchen Solvers was responsible for the beautiful transformation.

Thanks again

Patty & Mark W – Kentucky

Thank you Kitchen Solvers for doing such a beautiful job on our kitchen! Our kitchen use to be so dark, but with your suggestions on using the lighter wood, it is now much brighter and prettier. It has totally transformed the look of the entire room. It still amazes me at how quickly the work was completed. Our friends are shocked when they see our new kitchen and hear about how easily and quickly it was done. I will proudly recommend Kitchen Solvers to anyone who asks. Kitchen Solvers is a class act!

Pam G – Virginia

I just wanted to say thank you to Kitchen Solvers for my new kitchen! I absolutely love everything about it! The cabinets turned out more beautiful than I imagined. Everything really looks so good together, I am just amazed. Kitchen Solvers made this whole process so easy. What a pleasure to work with such a great company.

Tricia D – Maryland

We are sending you a big Thank You to Kitchen Solvers for doing such a fantastic job designing and building our new kitchen! Everything looks so wonderful. We simply love everything about it and truly appreciate how easy the entire process was. We will definitely refer Kitchen Solvers to everyone we know. You will also be the first one we contact if we ever do any more remodeling. Thank you again!

Steve & Lisa A – South Carolina

Just a short note to say thank you to Kitchen Solvers for all the work you did on my kitchen. Your company provided First Class workmanship and I’m very pleased with my new kitchen. The whole process didn’t take as long as I thought it would, and I was pleased to be able to use my kitchen every evening. Overall the whole process was very professional and top notched. Thanks again. I can’t stop smiling as I sit here looking at my new cabinets.

Joan F – Ohio

Our experience with Kitchen Solvers has been exceptional in every regard. The service, skill, and work ethic of everyone involved were absolutely first class. The design assistance provided by Kitchen Solvers was very helpful and product selection was better than any other company. When we do our next project, we will certainly use Kitchen Solvers and highly recommend them to anyone.

Sincerely,

David and Mary L – Iowa

I had the pleasure of working with Kitchen Solvers to give my outdated kitchen a much needed face lift. Kitchen Solvers refaced my cabinets, put in new hardware, built a new side cabinet to accommodate a new stove and put in new countertops. They provided a ton of cabinet refacing and countertop samples and they also offered up suggestions to help us. They were extremely patient during my decision making time, and worked well within my budget. The end result was outstanding! I have recommended Kitchen Solvers to several friends and co-workers.

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From the first sit-down meeting in your old kitchen, to the first time you walk through your newly remodeled space, you’ll know you partnered with the right team. We oversee the process from start to finish, ensuring the most efficient, hassle-free experience possible. This is who we are at the core of Kitchen Solvers...Read More